News

Wound center at DCHS successful

October 8, 2012

IRON MOUNTAIN - The new Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine is surpassing the goals of a quality initiative established when the Dickinson County Healthcare System facility opened earlier this year.

The initiative aimed for all wounds treated at the center to be 50 percent healed within four weeks from the initial patient visit. To date, wounds treated at the center are healed, on average, within 34 days.

This exceeds national quality standards for wound care that stipulate a target of 98 to 112 days for healing, said DCHS officials.

"We are extremely happy with the quality of wound care that we provide at the center, as are our patients," said Phil Miziniak, certified wound specialist at DCHS. "Both staff and our core of physicians assimilated their training into daily practice; our satisfied and healthy patients are the end result."

Dickinson County Memorial Hospital's wound care program had been a part of Dickinson Rehabilitation Services since Miziniak joined the rehab staff in 1999. He steadily grew the program through the years as he attained additional education and certification as a wound care specialist.

The decision was made to build a modern specialty center, which was accomplished in June of this year. Wound care patients were transitioned from the Rehabilitation Department to the new center.

In a report to the DCHS Board of Trustees, Miziniak cited the following accomplishments since April 2012:

- Establishment of a certified, specialized Electronic Medical Record system.

- Implementation of a tool that measures patient satisfaction with their care.

- Initial marketing of the new wound center through August increased the number of patient encounters to 272 per month.

Plans for the future include continuation of quality initiatives, the provision of education in the use of hyperbaric medicine for non-wound cases, and national accreditation by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). Marketing will also shift from a public emphasis to a provider emphasis.

A successful wound treatment case at the Dickinson center will soon be featured in a national trade publication, Miziniak said.